Friday, July 29, 2016

Queerlesque, the Movement

"This show is proof that history remembers.
We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger.
We rise and fall in light from dying embers
Remembrances that hope and love last longer." - Lin-Manuel Miranda, 2016 Tony Awards acceptance sonnet

"How
does a skater, a failed cloning project, and a/ Drag king, dropped in the
middle of a/ Chainsaw repair and beauty shop in Denton for Glitterbomb/ A queer
variety show/ Give a history lesson some rhyme and flow?"My rap composition skills are a bit rusty,
but get the reference?

To fully
understand the story, let's go back to 2008.I was in New York City, watching the Tony Awards (on TV) pay tribute to RENT after having seen the show
live.A young man named Lin-Manuel
Miranda won Best Original Score and freestyled his acceptance speech.I was in awe.The particular run of RENT I
saw featured Renee Elise Goldsberry who would go on to star in Lin's next
musical.I like to think that I was
destined to be a Hamilton fan before
Lin even started writing, but I'm just a fan of unconventional musicals.

Tony
Fo-Hawk's Hamilton number came out of
a fantasy and a joke.Alexander Hamilton
was on my list of dream theatrical roles, and I wondered if I could do a
Schuyler Sisters act with my friends.Nothing substantial came into mind until one day when Lillith Grey
mentioned that Glitterbomb was still looking for performers for their
"History Lessons" show.I make
a slightly snarky comment about how I'm surprised she's not getting a million Hamilton auditions.She wasn't.I could hear voice of Alexander, "I am not throwing away my
shot."This was mine.

Although
Tony is far from a history buff, he's "young, scrappy, and hungry"."My Shot" is all about seizing the
moment—a message that would be more important as we got closer to the show,
which was the Thursday after the Tony Awards.That meant it was right after the Orlando shootings.As everyone tried to process the tragedy, the
cast decided to change the theme to Pride.I scrapped my steampunk act for "Jesus of Suburbia", my
queerest number.The angry tone made me
apprehensive, but we needed to express a range of emotions."My Shot" was uplifting, and with
every word I memorized, I realized its application to our community.Another line rang out in my mind, "This
is not a moment, it's the movement."We were going to rise up.

And that's
what we did that night.I wished I could
have seen everyone's performance, but I had to keep a level head to deliver a solid performance. Lip syncing a rap is like doing three songs in one (and I don't blame Milo Cox for not rapping my intro). The large crowd also made me nervous. Due to an earlier event at Mable Peabody's, our audience was huge. It was great to get the support, and a couple people approached me after my
performance to express interest in future shows.That made me happy because there are styles
of drag and burlesque that people don't think about and sometimes they just
need to see the right act to be pulled in.Also it sounded like they had found another safe space.

Photo by Madelyn Waltz

I will
forever sing praises for the queerlesque community.Some stages might not appreciate our
aesthetic and some people might not accept our identities, but places like
Glitterbomb and Tuesday Tease give us opportunities to let us be heard. I didn't throw away my shot.

Special thanks to Oliver Clothesoff for taking video and being my ride!

On the
subject of opportunities, the movement has grown to where we now have the
inaugural Texas Queerlesque Festival.It's this weekend, and check out this amazing line-up. You can
still get tickets to both shows and the workshops so go visit
texasqueerlesquefestival.com